Forta excels at detecting on-chain threats and anomalies in real-time because it operates as a decentralized network of node operators running detection bots. For example, its community has published over 3,000 detection bots that monitor for exploits like flash loan attacks, governance manipulation, and smart contract vulnerabilities across 40+ supported chains, including Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum. This provides deep, protocol-native visibility that traditional tools lack.
LABS
Comparisons
Forta vs PagerDuty: Web3 Alerting & Incident Response
A technical analysis comparing Forta's decentralized detection network for smart contracts against PagerDuty's enterprise IT incident management platform, focusing on Web3 security, automation, and operational workflows.
Chainscore © 2026
introduction
THE ANALYSIS
Introduction: The Web3 Monitoring Dilemma
Choosing between Forta's on-chain intelligence and PagerDuty's enterprise-grade orchestration is a foundational infrastructure decision for Web3 teams.
PagerDuty takes a different approach by integrating Web3 alerts into a mature, enterprise incident response platform. This results in superior orchestration for human teams—automating escalations, on-call schedules, and integrating with tools like Slack, Jira, and ServiceNow—but requires you to build or source the underlying blockchain data feeds yourself, adding integration complexity.
The key trade-off: If your priority is automated, low-level threat detection directly on-chain (e.g., for a DeFi protocol securing $100M+ TVL), choose Forta. If you prioritize seamlessly embedding Web3 alerts into existing enterprise DevOps and SRE workflows with robust human coordination, choose PagerDuty.
tldr-summary
Forta vs PagerDuty
TL;DR: Core Differentiators
Key strengths and trade-offs for Web3-native vs. traditional enterprise alerting.
02
Forta: Decentralized & Composable
Open detection market: 1,000+ community-built bots (e.g., for MEV, rug pulls) create a shared security layer. Alerts can trigger on-chain actions via Gelato or OpenZeppelin Defender. This matters for teams building a resilient, automated response stack without vendor lock-in.
04
PagerDuty: Reliability & Scale
Proven at scale: Processes over 1B events monthly with 99.99% uptime SLA. Offers granular role-based access control (RBAC) and audit trails. This matters for regulated enterprises or protocols where compliance, accountability, and operational stability are non-negotiable.
HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
Forta vs PagerDuty: Web3 Alerting & Incident Response
Direct comparison of key metrics and features for Web3-native and traditional monitoring platforms.
| Metric / Feature | Forta | PagerDuty |
|---|---|---|
Native Blockchain Monitoring | ||
Avg. Alert Latency (On-chain) | < 5 sec | N/A |
On-Chain Data Sources | EVM, Subgraphs, RPC Nodes | APIs, Logs, Metrics |
Detection Bot Ecosystem | Open Marketplace | Custom Integrations |
Smart Contract Security Focus | ||
Pricing Model | Usage-based (FORTA) | Seat-based |
Native Web3 Integrations | OpenZeppelin, Aave, Compound | Datadog, AWS, ServiceNow |
pros-cons-a
PROS AND CONS
Forta vs PagerDuty: Web3 Alerting & Incident Response
Key strengths and trade-offs for Web3-native vs. traditional incident management platforms.
02
Forta's Strength: Decentralized & Programmable
Open-source, composable alerts: Developers write custom detection bots in JavaScript/Python, leveraging a shared library of 1,000+ public bots. This matters for creating protocol-specific security rules (e.g., unusual withdrawal patterns on Aave) and integrating directly into your DAO's governance or treasury management workflows.
1,000+
Public Detection Bots
04
PagerDuty's Strength: Broad Ecosystem Integration
750+ native integrations: Connects to virtually any monitoring tool (Datadog, New Relic) and communication channel. This matters for teams running hybrid infrastructure (cloud + blockchain nodes) who need a single pane of glass for all alerts, reducing context switching and ensuring no critical page is missed.
750+
Native Integrations
05
Forta's Weakness: Immature Response Layer
Alerting focus over resolution: While detection is strong, native incident response (auto-pausing contracts, executing governance) is limited and requires custom integration. This matters for teams that need automated runbooks or built-in mitigation steps beyond sending a Slack/Telegram alert.
06
PagerDuty's Weakness: Web3 Blind Spot
Limited on-chain context: PagerDuty treats blockchain alerts as generic webhooks, lacking native understanding of transaction hashes, wallet clustering, or DeFi position health. This matters for responders who must quickly diagnose if an alert is a false positive or a genuine multi-million dollar exploit in progress.
pros-cons-b
PROS AND CONS
Forta vs PagerDuty: Web3 Alerting & Incident Response
Key strengths and trade-offs at a glance for Web3-native vs. traditional incident management.
02
Forta's Strength: Decentralized & Composable
Protocol-native integration: Alerts are emitted as on-chain events or via Webhooks, enabling automated responses via smart contracts (e.g., pausing a pool). This matters for building self-healing protocols that can react to threats without manual intervention, unlike centralized ticketing systems.
04
PagerDuty's Strength: Broad Ecosystem Integration
500+ pre-built integrations: Connects seamlessly with traditional cloud monitoring (AWS CloudWatch), APM tools, and IT service management platforms. This matters for hybrid infrastructure teams managing both Web2 cloud services and blockchain nodes, needing a single pane of glass.
05
Forta's Trade-off: Limited Operational Runbooks
Focus on detection over response: While excellent at finding threats, Forta lacks built-in incident command, war rooms, and automated remediation workflows. Teams must build their own response layer using services like OpenZeppelin Defender or Tenderly Actions.
06
PagerDuty's Trade-off: Web3 Blind Spots
No native on-chain context: Cannot parse smart contract logs, monitor MEV, or track wallet reputation natively. Requires building custom integrations to forward Forta or Blocknative alerts, adding complexity and latency to threat response.
CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITY
When to Choose Forta vs PagerDuty
Forta for Web3 Security
Verdict: The Essential Choice. Forta is purpose-built for on-chain threat detection and real-time security monitoring.
Strengths:
- On-Chain Intelligence: Detects anomalies like flash loan attacks, governance exploits, and smart contract vulnerabilities directly from blockchain data.
- Decentralized Detection Network: Leverages a permissionless network of node operators (like Chainlink) for censorship-resistant, community-vetted alerts.
- Protocol-Specific Agents: Use or create custom detection bots ("Agents") for your specific DeFi protocol (e.g., Aave, Compound) or NFT collection.
- Preventive Action: Alerts can trigger automated responses via smart contracts, enabling defensive actions like pausing a pool.
Weaknesses:
- Requires blockchain/data expertise to configure and interpret.
- Primarily focused on on-chain events, not traditional infra.
PagerDuty for Web3 Security
Verdict: Supplementary for Off-Chain Infra. PagerDuty excels at managing incidents for your traditional cloud stack but lacks native Web3 context.
Strengths:
- Mature Incident Response: Robust workflows, on-call schedules, and escalation policies for DevOps/SRE teams.
- Broad Integration Ecosystem: Connects to Datadog, AWS CloudWatch, and other monitoring tools.
Weaknesses:
- No Native On-Chain Monitoring: Cannot directly subscribe to or interpret blockchain state changes or smart contract events. You must build and maintain custom integrations to pipe Forta or other blockchain data into it.
- Centralized Point of Failure: Relies on PagerDuty's SaaS platform.
Decision: Choose Forta as your primary alert source for smart contract and DeFi protocol security. Use PagerDuty as the orchestration layer for your team's incident response if you already have a mature DevOps practice.
verdict
THE ANALYSIS
Final Verdict and Decision Framework
A decisive breakdown of when to choose Forta's on-chain intelligence versus PagerDuty's enterprise-grade orchestration.
Forta excels at detecting on-chain threats and protocol anomalies because its decentralized network of detection bots analyzes real-time blockchain data. For example, its bots can identify a flash loan attack on Aave or suspicious minting activity on an ERC-20 contract within seconds, enabling automated responses like pausing a Compound market. Its native integration with smart contracts via the Forta SDK is a core strength for Web3-native teams.
PagerDuty takes a different approach by providing a centralized, battle-tested platform for orchestrating the entire incident response lifecycle across any data source. This results in superior operational maturity—features like on-call scheduling, escalation policies, and bi-directional integrations with Datadog, Slack, and Jira—but requires you to pipe blockchain data into it via custom webhooks or third-party services, adding latency and integration complexity.
The key trade-off is between native blockchain intelligence and enterprise incident management. If your priority is low-latency, automated response to on-chain events (e.g., securing a DeFi protocol or NFT mint), choose Forta. Its decentralized network and bot economy are built for this. If you prioritize unifying Web2 and Web3 alerts, managing large SRE/DevOps teams with strict SLAs, and having a mature, auditable incident workflow, choose PagerDuty. It's the proven choice for organizations where blockchain is one of many critical systems.
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$20M+
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